Last summer, Taos and I continued our tradition of a late-summer road trip... kid and dad adventuring while Jesse holds down the fort (during a busy time at the native-plant nursery). ...Partying with some of our favorite people, at some of our favorite places.
This blog post is a rough sketch of the trip.
It started with a meetup at my brother's Simi Valley horse ranch, to celebrate our mom's 80th birthday. A lot of the family came together for this one. It went great.
There was some token ranch work — pounding fence posts.
Late-night story telling around the backyard fire, with Jack Daniels and wine.
Some runs in the hills with my strapping nephew Kalle.
A koala bear visited (Heath's step-son's daughter), and immediately glommed onto Taos:
Then my mom, my kid (Taos), and I did an easy drive up the coast. We stopped at a winery, where I did my best to experience the back-of-the-mouth subtleties (week-old two-buck-chuck is fine for this brute). We stopped at my mom's favorite coastal town, Cayucos. A very old man was slowly skateboarding back and forth in a half pipe... looking stoked.
My mom spent a few days with us in Oakland. This was her first time seeing what might be our "forever home".
In our backyard, heading to take-out Indian food at the table built by our supremely-rad property mate Clay:
We took my mom to one of our favorite spots — the Oakland zoo. With one of Taos's best buds. My mom moves slow and the kids were looking bored. My mom and I got into convo with a zoo volunteer, and the kids wandered down the path a bit. At some point, the volunteer stopped mid-sentence and sighed. "The problem isn't kids... it's the parents." I look where she's looking. Taos and buddy are way high up in a tree (not far from the gibbon area... fellow tree-dwelling primates). I was simulatenously happy that the kids found fun, and awkward about now needing to disclose my affiliation. Unperturbed, I gave the kids free rein and dippin dots... we all had a good time.
My mom was introduced to my dad by his sister, Julia. My aunt and mom go way back. I brought my mom up to Julia's for a few days of one-on-one time. ...Before Taos and I would drive her back to South Dakota. It was very sweet to see my aunt tear up upon seeing my mom at her front door.
My mom used to love solo straight-thru 24-hour drives. Coffee, sunflower seeds, moon, cracked truck window, George Michael. We didn't know how it'd go this time. She did great. She got behind the wheel for a few hours, and instantly seemed twenty years younger.
We stopped at my favorite rest stop — a passive-solar building with an educational placard. My daughter was absolutely enthralled during my impromptu presentation.
Taos and I kept up the tradition of climbing around on cement dinosaurs at Rapid City's Dinosaur Park. ...One of our happy places.
On our way to my sister Kim's near Devil's Tower...
When in Rome (when in the U.S.A.)... dirt-bike hill-climb competition at Jackpine Gypsies during the Sturgis motorcyle rally. Where Taos, coming from climbing-trees-is-dangerous Bay Area, got to see dirt-bike riders scrambling out of the way just in time to not get crushed by their falling dirt bikes.
Then another Taos + Mike happy place... the historic Spearfish fish hatchery. We play the game of trying to get a fish pellet to a targeted fish.
At Kim and Lowell's... puppypalooza. Puppypandemonium. Puppy...STOP MIKE.
Taos and I got in on another classic ranch activity... moving hay bales. Check out this rig at the hay fields:
Taos drove Kim's side-by-side up to the yurt for drinks at sunset:
And the visit to a horse ranch isn't complete without:
Taos drove the Prius part way back to the main roads. A Prius isn't as fun as a side-by-side... but her thrill was palpable when trucks drove past.
On the long drives between friends, it's good to stop at random spots. Sometimes Taos will point to a hilltop or a beach or whatnot and say "Let's go there". And we do. It's good to feel the space and time... hard to do on most days back home.
Cody, Wyoming is "Rodeo Capitol of the World". Our timing was right... here we go, Taos's first rodeo experience. She gave the heads up that she might not be into it. It turned out... she was very into it.
We arrived right as they called all kid rodeo-fans down to the arena. I pressed Taos to join the fray. The first kid to get a flag off a sprinting calf wins. Taos got thrown right into the rodeo fire.
Soon after, a little-kid cowboy on a bucking calf shot out the chute. He held on a long time. Got bucked off and landed hard. Popped up, into big dance moves. Waved on the cheers with his cowboy hat. Not the Bay Area.
A woman did tricks on a galloping horse. Upside down... her head inches from the ground. Taos looked mesmerized.
After the rodeo... Taos's first time doing the sleep-on-the-side-of-the-road-thing (at a designated area). I got her set up in the back of the Prius, and I slept outside. And I was feeling the gratitude for this awesomely-reliable car... our little space ship. And gratitude for our friend Diana for lending the Space Cadet cargo box.
It was our big hike day. Taos was game. Our breakfast-place server recommended Avalanche Peak. We decided to go for it 💪.
At the trailhead, succesful summiters wrote notes in a book (e.g. "We saw a grizzly bear!"). This helped motivate Taos.
She did great and we got to the top. There were some times where she dragged out breaks with involved bug-house building. And times where she straight-up wanted to turn around. I did my best with the obnoxious-dad-pep-talks ("the satisfaction of getting to the top... you'll have that forever kid... and you're almost there"). Because of or in spite of my pep talks, Taos got to the top.
It was crazy windy on the ridge. Fortunately, hikers built a bunker... our little home. Taos had some screen time in our home, while I walked a ways up the ridge for some dad-stares-into-the-void time.
Towards the end of the hike... check out this glowing triumph:
Hot damn, Yellowstone is gorgeous.
That night, we stayed at an Airbnb in Helena. In our 3+ week road trip, this was the one night that we paid for lodging. I regretted it... the side of the road had worked out fine.
The next day was our official tourist day. We went to a historic district, where I pressed Taos to imagine how life was "back then".
We took the street-train tour.
Then we spent a few hours in a yesteryear toy shop. I'll acknowledge here that I partake lightly in cannabis edibles during these road trips. It makes everything harder in a way... because everything is more intense. But it also helps me be in what's happening. Including ambling around a toy shop with my kid for hours. ...What better thing could I possibly be doing in my life?
Shortly after the toy shop: I forgot why, but Taos got frustrated with me. I think I wasn't hearing her. We took this problem to the bar. She got a fancy soda drink. I got a beer. We talked thru it. We worked it out. Here we are, back in the saddles:
During my school breaks — with my mom in Montana — my best friend was Billy. A few years older, he looked after me. Big brother. We lost touch for a few decades. But we've reconnected thru these road trips. Billy is a good dude. He fights fires and he builds houses.
It did me good, sitting together by the creek that runs thru his property.
They took us to a bath house that reminded me of the one in Spirited Away. With a little mushroom in the body, I grinded it out in the sauna... time to try and pull myself together a bit, half-way thru the road trip.
Billy and Ashlyn have a pitbull named Roscoe. A big sweet boy. Billy's nephew's dog enjoyed humping on Roscoe. Billy: "Roscoe is the gayest dog I've ever known."
Here's Roscoe, creekside, watching butterflys flutter by:
We took Billy's ATVs onto logging roads. Taos behind the wheel.
We went from Billy's house to his parent's house... their backwoods off-grid cottagey cabin. I love their off-grid system, cobbled together over the years. I love their masonry stoves (I wrote about this here).
I love Liz's Montana-represent art.
Liz used to breed and show persian cats. On the other side of that work... they have seven persian cats in their little cabin. At one point, Taos got most of them very interested in a string. All those flat faces surrounding her. Jim Henson approved.
We threw apples to their pigs, and strolled around their hugelkultur garden beds.
...Liz and Tom inspire me to live closer to the Earth.
I got to spend the morning with Billy's older brother Scooby. ...I got to apologize for once joining the twirp neighborhood kids in taunting him ("I don't remember that. Thanks man, you don't need to carry that anymore"). We talked about Scooby's time cooking for fire crews... frying thousands of eggs every morning... the movement gets very precise.
In the same neck of the woods... our friend John. John is at the tail-end of his life. Anticipating death. I love sitting with John at his kitchen table. Hearing his stories from hunting on horseback and building rustic cabins and the like. His poetic musings. Sipping his moonshine-vibed concoction together in the early morning. Laying on the grass together, where he'd like to be buried in the beautiful casket that he made.
Time now to drive to our friends in Northern Washington. Another road-trip feature... junk food. I'm relieved that Taos starts to yearn for her mom's home cooking part way thru the trip.
Our Blaine friends have two of the brightest kids I've ever known. This family is doing the farm thing, legit.
They took us to the county fair (Taos's first). Shelby has been involved with 4-H since she was a kid. She has gracious humility, so this is purely a celebration of her 4-H involvement (but it's also a gangster flex)... she entered a quilt into a 4-H competition, that's composed of 4-H ribbons she's won over the years:
After visiting all the prize animals... No county-fair visit is complete without STARSHIP 2000:
It was sweet to spend some time around the farm. I did a token farm job with Anders... putting wheels on a chicken run to make it a "chicken tractor".
We brought home pickled spruce tips from their farm.
Their property includes forest, where they've made trails and a little theater spot... The kids performed The Taming of the Shrew. The nine-year-old daughter knew all the words from an abridged version... memorized from a single reading. I was blown away. She controlled her little brother like a puppet. On cue, he dawned an "in love" expression... his eyes getting big, his jaw dropping, shoulders slumping.
Then to our island friends, Golda and Shannon. Golda is a super-pro PV installer. Shannon is a super-pro builder. Hanging out with friends in the trades... I'm a dog rolling in dead fish.
Speaking of dead fish... they took us fishing. Crabs and pink salmon. We got out there when the salmon were jumping all over the place. Sometimes three tight together. It was dreamy.
Shannon pulled up a salmon and it was my job to get it in the net. They were using unbarbed hooks (and throwing native salmon back), so the netter needed to not fumble. I 100% fumbled and we lost the fish (but I got one in the net later).
The crab dinner that night... chef's kiss.
The next day, we went to Seattle's inadequately-named Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Experience Museum).
I was excited to introduce Taos to Nirvana, thru the long-running exhibit that would soon close. "Check it out kid... grunge music". Taos took the bait... shortly after the trip, she said Nirvana is one of her favorite bands.
Here's Taos checking out a painting that Kurt Cobain did in high school:
At the museum, we also got Taos introduced to Seattle's Jimi Hendrix. And there was an exhibit on fantasy films, including Harry Potter. And a horror-film exhibit...
That evening, we stayed with buddies Colin and Meghan. Back in college, Colin and I rode bikes from Santa Cruz to South Dakota. Colin is one of my "wow man, you're like... a real adult" friends. A solid dude. Avid hiker. Meghan holds it down for Taos like Mary Poppins.
Our friend May graciously let us stay at her spot while she was away. I missed seeing her. I — introvert that I am — was also socially exhausted, and appreciated the down time.
We visited college friend Renee and her kids and family. Her delightfully-spunky daughter led us on a walk in the woods. Oh my gosh, Renee and her family are sooo friggin nice.
After visiting Renee, it was time for our official city shopping. Let's get Taos some shoes. The second store had shoes that Taos was sort-of into. She showed restraint and patience... the third store had shoes she was definitely into.
The next day, we visited college friend Lindsay. I've been wanting Taos to meet Lindsay for years. I hyped up Lindsay on the way over: "Her personality... she's like Poppy from Trolls". As in, super bubbly and fun. Lindsay measured up. When we left, Taos said resolutely: "I like her".
With flowers from Lindsay's flower farm:
Our last stop: Jesse's mom in Yreka, CA.
In the morning, we hung out at the community garden where Jules has a plot.
On the way to lake fun, we stopped at an estate sale. Jules is a pro at finding quality stuff for cheap. I got some random tools for $4.
The lake felt good. A kid came up to Taos to establish instant friendship.
The road trip was a great success. I took this less for granted after the last road trip fell flat on its face half way thru... when Taos and I both got covid.
It was nice to be home again, with a few gifts for Jesse:
Everyone who hosted us on this trip... THANK YOU SO MUCH. We couldn't have done this without you. It's really heartening ❤️
You're always welcome here in Oakland.